Iran News Round Up - July 31, 2017

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a statement via his website denying rumors that he chose “the members of the cabinet one by one.” The statement clarified that Khamenei had “particular sensitivities” to the departments of Education and the Culture and Islamic Guidance but added that he “was not involved in the selection of their ministry officials.” Khamenei’s comments follow others’ criticisms of President Hassan Rouhani for revealing details of his second term cabinet to Khamenei. (BBC Persian)

Guardian Council Head Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati stated that Iran’s enemies “want to indirectly go to war with the Supreme Leader through the destruction of the IRGC.” Jannati stressed that Iranians should not “carry out American policies domestically” by “condemning the IRGC [by calling it] gun-wielding.” Jannati’s comments likely address recent tensions between President Hassan Rouhani and the IRGC following remarks Rouhani made during an Eid al Fitr speech criticizing the IRGC’s role in Iran’s economy. (Tasnim News Agency)

Qom Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Saeedi called on President Hassan Rouhani to not merely condemn the new sanctions, but "unite with Russia and North Korea to give a tough answer to U.S.”

• Interim Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Hojjat ol Eslam Kazem Sadighi stated that “Iran would not have these problems” if the government had obeyed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s warning which "urged Iranian diplomats not to trust the U.S. at the beginning of the [nuclear] talks." (BBC Persian)

Iranian Deputy Health Minister Bagher Larijani announced that Iran is planning to build the first foreign University of Medical Sciences in Iraq. Larijani added that the two countries will expand cooperation in the fields of research and scientific production. (Mehr News Agency) (E)

Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov on July 28. The two parties reportedly discussed the two countries’ relations, the implementation of various agreements, and outlined a new joint economic project. Sanaei stated that he hoped that Iranian-Russian trade would increase “notably” by the end of this year. (ILNA)

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani continued his response to U.S. sanctions in remarks on July 27. Larijani stressed that the sanctions presented “nothing new” and that media outlets in Iran should not “create unreasonable anxiety.” He added that this was true since “the effect [of the sanctions]... on the lives of [most] people is very negligible.” (BBC Persian)

• Basij Organization Commander IRGC Brig. Gen. Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar responded to the U.S. referring to the IRGC as an organization “supporting international terrorism” in the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act voted on in the House of Representatives on July 25. He stated that “with these remarks the region has become more unsafe for [the U.S.].” Gheibparvar stressed that the people of Iran are “united and coordinated and will never come up short against [their] enemies.” (Fars News Agency)
• Head of the Nuclear Committee of the Parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mojtaba Zolnour suggested that Iran should respond in kind to U.S. sanctions. He stated that “[Iran] should… restore centrifuge activities to previous levels or increase the level of our enrichment [activities].” Zolnour added that the bill responding to U.S. sanctions was “perhaps 20%” of a sufficient response to U.S. actions. (Mehr News Agency)

Iran launched the Simorgh space launch vehicle on July 27. The Simorgh can reportedly carry satellites of up to 250kg in weight for a distance of up to 500km. (Tasnim News Agency)